Alister Spence Trio album

NOT EVERYTHING BUT ENOUGH

(Alister Spence Music)

8/10

There are two types of artist: those who spend entire careers replicating an approach, and those who keep reaching for the new. Across its two-decade career the Alister Spence Trio has continued to evolve from a relatively conventional piano/bass/drums jazz band into a unit prepared to brave the woolly frontier where composition and improvisation collide in fresh ways. Concurrently Spence’s use of electronics has become ever more sophisticated, drummer Toby Hall’s glockenspiel playing has become a trademark and bassist Lloyd Swanton’s playing has become leaner, yet with an intensified voodoo effect.

So this double album documents the latest phase of the trio’s journey rather than marking a destination. Spence’s extended compositions are diverse and often quite dark, and can spear off in unforeseen directions. These cohabit with group improvisations and solo piano pieces, and the band has become so adept at reating almost cinematic mood pieces that a couple of the more rhythmic compositions sound almost wooden by comparison, with In a Good World in particular crying out for a lighter, more aerated approach. Nonetheless this is high-wire music-making.

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About John Shand

John Shand is a playwright, librettist, author, journalist, drummer and critic. He has written about music (and occasionally theatre) for The Sydney Morning Herald for over 20 years. His books include Don’t Shoot The Best Boy! – The Film Crew At Work (Currency), Jazz – The Australian Accent (UNSW Press) and The Phantom Of The Soap Opera(Wizard). In 2017 he won the inaugural Arts Journalism Award at the Walkleys, the nation’s preeminent awards for journalism. He lives in Katoomba (NSW) with she who is called The Mouse. He enjoys wine, and wishes he could say in moderation.